I knew I loved you before I met you
by messersmontana
Summary: It's Lindsay's birthday and Jess will get to come face to face with Flack for the first time since the explosion.
1. Chapter 1

I knew I loved you before I met you

by messersmontana

This is the next story in my new series. Flack isn't back to work yet, but that doesn't mean that he can't be in the story. It's Lindsay's birthday and we get a celebration.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my idea, not the show or the song. Thanks again to Cassie for beta reading it.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to write more, but between severe weather and tornado warnings and 5 tornadoes that touched down just south of us, I have been on pins and needles. And we're not done with the severe weather, we've got it all week long.

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Jess sat at her desk, on a Friday night, doing the thing that she hated most about this job...paperwork. She'd been working on it for the past three hours and she would much rather put this one behind her. She She sighed as she thought back to the longest day in the six weeks she'd been working here.

~flashback~

Benton and Jess had been called to the scene by first responders. A body had been found in a storage unit. The unit had been empty and when the manager went to show it to a potential customer, they'd found the body inside. The horrified manager went to call 911 while the poor customer lost all contents in his stomach.

Benton called the crime lab and asked Mac to meet him and Jess at the scene. By the time they'd gotten there, Mac and Hawkes were already inside taking pictures of the crime scene. Stella was trying to talk to the manager, who kept insisting that he knew nothing about it and that the unit had been vacant for almost a year now.

"Hey Stella." Benton called out as he and Jess got out of the car. He took in the look on the manager's face and felt for him, he really looked like he was going to puke.

Stella looked over at the newcomers. "Oh, hey there Benton, hi Angell. Glad that you could join us. This is Mr. Belmont, manager of these units. He said that this one has been vacant for almost a year, and he's been sowing it for a few months now. Last time he showed it was...?" She asked, looking back at Mr. Belmont.

"I showed it a couple of weeks ago to this smoken hot little lady who decided it was too big for her. She ended up renting a smaller unit a few rows over from here." He went on to explain. "She moved her stuff in a day later and that's the last time I saw her."

Jess wrote down everything he was saying. "What's her name?" She asked him, looking up from her notebook.

He looked at her confused. "What?" He asked back, kind of like Jess had spoken another language. He also seemed to suddenly get this blank look on his face.

Jess moved closer to him and spoke slower, giving him a look that said, 'come on'. "What is her name? You know, the smoken hot little lady? The one who rented the smaller unit?" She asked again, hoping that he wasn't really _that_ stupid.

He seemed to snap out of it then. "Oh, her. I don't remember her name, but I'd never forget what she looked like. I can go and look it up for you, if you want." He asked when Jess looked like she wanted to shoot him.

"I want." Was all that Jess said.

Benton got tired of this guy really fast. "Yeah, I'll go with you to look it up. Be right back ladies." He said, as he pulled Mr. Belmont with him towards the office.

Jess and Stella laughed at the way Mr. Belmont looked as Benton dragged him to the office. "Why do I suddenly feel sorry for that man?" Stella asked.

Jess laughed at that. "Because Benton was already in a bad mood before we got the call. Today was supposed to be his day off, but Mallery asked him to come in and cover someone's shift. We're still short handed because Detective Flack's still out on medical leave." She told Stella.

"Yeah, I hear he's been pestering Mallery, trying to get cleared to come back next month. He's doing remarkable and he's healing fast. I'm just glad that he made it, he had us so scared. He's such a great guy and a good detective. You'll see when you get to finally meet him. I know that we talk about him a lot, but we've all been working together for so long that we're almost like family. And we've welcomed you into our fold, just like we did for Lindsay when she first came to work with us last year." Stella explained with a smile.

Jess got butterflies in her stomach when Stella mentioned that he was trying to come back early. He was still constantly in her mind and dreams, and she'd still not really figured it out yet. His accident was six weeks ago and it was still driving her crazy. She wasn't like this, never had been like this with any guy she met.

Jess still hasn't spent more than three minutes with him, conscious, and the only time she'd seen him in the hospital was that first day. She was so lost in thought that she missed what Stella had just said.

"Earth to Angell, are you still with me?" She asked her, waving her hand in front of Jess's face.

Jess came back to the present and blushed. "I'm sorry Stella, what did you say?" She asked.

Stella chuckled and squeezed her arm. "I guess you were lost in your own little world. I said that we should go and see what Mac and Hawkes have found. You finally get to meet Hawkes too. I know that you've been working mostly with Danny and Mac, but now you get to meet him too. So, come on." She said as they walked into the storage unit for the first time.

Jess almost gagged at the smell, but held it inside, and she was proud of herself. Hi Mac, whatcha got?" She asked him as he stood and turned to see them walk into the unit.

"Angell, where's Benton? He called us, yet he's the one not present." Mac said.

"He took Mr. Belmont to the office to get us the name of the last person he showed this unit to. He should be back here in a few minutes." She told Mac, the turned to the other man in the room. "You must be Sheldon Hawkes, I've heard so much about you from Messer." She said as she held out her hand.

Hawkes took her hand and the shook. "Don't believe a word of it then. Coming from Danny, then it must all be exaggerated. You must be the infamous Detective Angell, I've also heard a lot about you, from Danny." He replied.

"I hope it's all been good, knowing Messer I'm not so sure." She said.

Hawkes laughed. "Yeah, Danny said that you're one of the good ones and gives you all high praises. He also said that you give as good as you get and that you're definitely a keeper. So, I'd say that Danny has all good things to say about you." He told her.

"Then I guess he can live for now, besides if I killed him, Lindsay might just shoot me. She seems to like having him around and he seems to like being around her." She said and they both laughed.

Mac interrupted them and brought them back to the reason they were there. "So, Angell, you taking lead on this case?" He asked her, motioning for Hawkes to finish taking pictures.

"Yeah, I am. Benton and Mallery thought it was time for me to take lead and see if I can move closer to ending my probation period earlier. So, what have you got for me?" She asked him.

Mac went on to tell her everything that they knew about the body, which wasn't much, and they finished processing the scene. Benton showed up with the name and number of the lady so he and Jess left the CSI's there with the body.

~end flashback~

The day had only gotten worse when Benton and Jess questioned the girl. They found out that she'd killed him, in self defense and got her brother to help her hide the body. She'd remembered that the unit was empty and they'd moved the body there. This guy had been stalking her for days and when he'd attacked her, she grabbed the first thing should find and stabbed him. They still had no ID on the guy.

Jess sighed and placed the file in her out box. She stood and stretched as her cell phone rang, she picked it up and smiled. "Hey Stella, what's up?" She asked.

Stella laughed. "Caller ID, huh?"

"Yeah, never answer the phone without looking at the caller ID. It's saved me a few times when my mom calls me while I'm on a date." Jess answered.

Stella laughed again. "I bet. Anyway, I'm calling you to invite you to Lindsay's birthday party tonight. I meant to do it earlier today, but we got caught up in the case. We're gonna have it at Sullivan's and everyone is gonna be there. Danny was off today and grabbed Don, to get his mind off of everything. They decorated Sullivan's in all of Lindsay's favorite things and it looks really good. She's gonna love it." Stella said.

Jess got all tingly when Stella mentioned Don's name. She really did want to see him and maybe figure out what it was about this man that made her so crazy. "I don't know Stella, it's been a long day, and I don't have anything to give her." She tried to explain.

Stella wouldn't hear any of it. "We can pick something up on the way. I'll be there to pick you up in ten minutes, and I'm not taking no for an answer. It's casual dress, so what you're wearing is perfect." Stella said.

Jess sighed. "Okay, okay I'll go, but I'm changing first. I have a change of clothes in my locker. See you in ten minutes." She said as she hung up the phone. Then Jess went to the locker room to change.

TBC

A/N: This is just the beginning, Next comes the party and Jess will finally come face to face with the one and only Donald Flack Jr. But don't think that they are going to start the relationship right away. I have plans. (evil grin)

Remember that I love feedback, but please be kind to me, I'm not as tough as Jess is.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2: The Party

It's time for Lindsay's party.

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Stella and Jess pulled up to Sullivan's after stopping at a boutique so that Jess could pick up a little something for Lindsay. She'd found the perfect gift for her. It was a small snow globe of Central Park. Jess knew that Lindsay loved to walk through Central Park on her days off, because Lindsay had told her one day when they were having lunch together.

Stella and Jess got out of the car and walked into Sullivan's. Sully, the owner, had closed it down that night to everyone, except the party goers. That consisted of everyone from the crime lab (if they were lucky to have the night off), the few detectives and police officers who worked regularly with Lindsay Monroe, and were her friends. Then they also invited her uncle.

The first person to see Jess and Stella was Hawkes. "Hey Angell, I guess Stella was right," at her look he continued. "She told me that she could talk you into coming tonight. Lindsay is gonna be happy to see you." He said as he hugged both of them.

Jess looked at Stella and grinned. "It's not like I had a choice. She wouldn't take no for an answer. She even picked me up and took me to get Lindsay's gift." She explained.

Hawkes and Stella laughed with Jess. "Sorry I came off as bossy, I just want this to be a special birthday for Lindsay. Last year her birthday really sucked. None of us had known it was her birthday and it was her first birthday away from her family." Ste;;a went on to explain.

Jess nodded and looked around the room. "So where is the birthday girl?" She asked Hawkes.

"Danny has strict orders from Flack, to keep her away until Mac and Sid gets here with her gift. Flack's over there texting Danny every ten minutes, letting him know who's all walked in the door. Mac's on his way to pick up Sid and the gift." Hawkes went onto explain.

Jess's stomach did a flip when Hawkes mentioned Flack. She tried to act as calm as possible. "Where should I put the gift I got for Lindsay?" She asked him, looking for a table with presents on it.

Hawkes pointed to the bar. "We've been putting them on the bar over by Flack. You can put yours there too and we'll introduce you to Flack. That way you won't be strangers."

Jess tried to smile, but her nerves made it look more like a grimace. "Yeah, that sounds good. I mean I kind of already met him the day he was injured, but it was kind of like for a second." She hoped that they didn't think that she was rambling on, but she was nervous and she really shouldn't be. It wasn't like he had her under a spell or something.

Stella and Hawkes walked over to the bar with her. "Hey Don, we'd like you to meet our newest member of the family, Detective...you know Angell, I don't think any of us know your first name." Stella said and turned back to look at Jess.

"I guess I didn't really notice, I'm so used to always being called Angell, that I never miss hearing my first name. "It's Jessica or Jess to my family and friends. It's nice to finally get to meet you Detective Flack. Everyone is always talking about you." Jess said as she placed the gift on the bar.

Don looked at Jess and closed his eyes. "I know you from somewhere. Wait, I've got it. The day of the explosion, you came into the precinct to see Mallery, right?" He asked her.

Jess nodded. "Yeah, that was my unofficial first day on the job. I shadowed Benton to the explosion and rode with you to the hospital. Benton and I have been working your caseload until you get back. I'm glad that you're doing better than the last time I saw you." She replied.

Stella and Hawkes saw Mac and Sid walk through the door. "You can let Danny know that he can bring Lindsay here anytime now. Mac here, and that makes everyone who's coming." Stella informed Don.

Jess moved away from the bar to mingle while Don called Danny to tell him that the coast was clear. She walked over to the juke box just as one of her favorite songs started playing. The song was 'I knew I loved you', by Savage Garden. The words made her think of Flack, but she didn't know why.

She was so into the song that she didn't hear him walk up behind her. "So, see any good songs on there?" Don asked her.

Jess jumped and looked behind her. "Sorry, I didn't hear you walk up to me. I guess I was kind of into this song. I love this song and Savage Garden." She replied.

"No need to apologize, I happen to like them too. I'm sorry I startled you. What other songs do they have there from Savage Garden?" He asked her.

Jess smiled and looked back at the juke box. "They also have Crash and Burn here, which I love too. Dad used to yell at me that I played it too loud, and that I was going to wear out the CD if I didn't stop playing it." She laughed.

Don laughed too. He already liked her, she was funny but not a clown. "So Angell, wanna get a beer?" He asked her.

Jess smiled through her nervousness. "Sure, I'd like that, but I would rather have a Pepsi, I shouldn't drink any beer tonight, I still need to take the train home." She replied.

They moved over to the bar and Jess ordered a Pepsi while Don ordered a beer. "I have been looking forward to this beer for the last six weeks. I am finally off of all my medicine. Of course, Danny had to make me take them." He said as he took his first drink.

Jess laughed at the face he made, it was like pure enjoyment. "That good huh?" She asked him. Flack was a nice guy and she enjoyed being around him.

You bet, this is the best beer I've ever had. Don't tell Danny that I'm drinking this. If he catches me, I'm dead. He wants me to refill my pain meds one more time." He said as he glanced at the door to make sure that Danny didn't surprise him and snuck in. Danny was supposed to text him when they got close.

"Your secret is safe with me, especially if it's a secret from Messer." They both laughed.

Don finished his beer and smiled at Jess. "Thanks, I owe you one." He told her as he ordered a Pepsi this time, and just in time too. Don's cell phone alerted him that Danny and Lindsay were there. He got everyone's attention. "They're here." He yelled to the room.

Lindsay and Danny walked in and everyone yelled 'surprise'. Lindsay jumped, but was so happy to see all of her friend and her uncle too. The party turned out to be a success.

Lindsay loved the snow globe from Jess, she almost cried. Stella got her a hundred dollar gift card from Tiffany's, with the promise that they'd go shopping together in a couple of days. Hawkes got her a paper weight for her office with a scorpion in it and he told her it's not to eat. Jess looked confused and Don told her that he'd explain later.

Sid and Peyton chipped in together to get her a nice bracelet, Peyton wasn't there cause she had to work. Adam got her a a boxed set of DVDs from her favorite TV show. Danny told her that he would give her his gift when he dropped her off at home later. Finally came Mac's gift to Lindsay and this one made her cry. It was a portrait of her family in front of their home, and he'd had it framed in a beautiful frame.

Lindsay told them all that it was the best birthday ever. She told Mac, as she hugged him, that it was like her family was there, in fact her new family had made this birthday very special for her. Next came her cake that Danny had made for her, it was covered with horses and she cried and hugged him too.

Jess and Flack stood with their friends and helped make Lindsay's birthday one she'll remember for a long time.

The End.

Okay, I hope that you all like this ending. I tried to make it not too sappy. Now onto my next story in the series. Please be kind when you send feedback, I'm still fragile. Lol


End file.
